Two different women, living on two opposite coasts, in two distinctly different industries, have both told me,“times are tough out here.” They believe that where they live is impacting their businesses growth.

These two statements got me thinking about my own business. In 2015, we moved to rural Nova Scotia, I spent almost 6 weeks out of commission for health reasons and managed to grow the business by over $110,000. That’s a 22% increase, living in a brand new place, with a 10% reduction in time.

For seven consecutive years, my business has had positive increases year over year in sales.

Now you might be thinking “Yes, but what you do is different Lisa.” But… Is it?

The question you should be asking is, what has factored seven consecutive years of businesses growth for me, and for a number of my clients?

I started thinking about my clients to see if there were trends to support geography or type of business. There were none.

Here are examples of 3 clients of mine who also have had growth year over year:

Entrepreneur A has grown her business by over 200K in annual revenues over the last 3 years. They are in a location dependent market, meaning this person cannot market to anyone who is not local and they are on “one of those coasts”. They are in professional services, they do not work with business owners, and they don’t sell a retail product.

Entrepreneur B has grown her business from under 6 figures to over 300k in less than 3 years, they too are focused on a local market, have a mix of retail products and services and do not sell to businesses. They have a specific niche business that is focused on kids. They live in a central, not a coastal location.

Entrepreneur C can’t physically take any more clients. She’s increased her fees over and over and her business is exploding at the seams. She is a business consultant with a very specific focus and typically works with employees who are looking to advance their career (again not business owners) and she lives on the “other” coast.

It’s obvious to me that your businesses success is not dependant on where you live, nor does it matter what field of business you are in.

It’s easy to rationalize why your business isn’t performing. People tend to make it out to be the “market’s fault.” It’s harder to step up and take responsibility for your wins and losses.

The business owners who have repeated growth in sales year over year are the ones who invest in themselves and their business. They are holding themselves accountable for their goals and the actions they need to take to get there.

Commitment is a tricky thing, although you may feel committed to your business, are you really? Do you continuously work ON your business as much as you work IN your business?

Where you live should not impact your businesses growth because the things all successful entrepreneurs have in common aren’t relevant to location.

This is what successful business owners do:

– They work with business coaches and experts to learn the things they don’t know in order to build their business.

– They aren’t afraid to ask for help and be vulnerable. Nor are they afraid to hire help in their business when they need additional bandwidth.

– They become ingrained in a community where they get ongoing support for their business from other business owners.

– They’re coachable when asking for help instead of being defensive. (That is an important point). When asking for help, don’t fall into the trap of defending why you do what you do or you will miss the opportunity you are seeking for growth.

– They take massive action and commit to their marketing strategy long term. They blog weekly, they mail their list frequently, they keep their social media up to date all the time.

– They do whatever it takes to create the success they experience in their business. They fully commit.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If you want to change, you need to change how you are running your business.

2017 can be the year you have growth if you’re prepared to change your approach.

Stop isolating yourself. Reach out and find a community that will support you. You need to find a place where you can get help, and be held accountable.

If you struggle with finances, look for someone who has built a financially successful business. If you struggle with the motivation to finish your big ideas, find someone who knows how to execute a project.

You need to be okay with asking for assistance as you build your business.

This is your business and you alone are responsible for its growth and success.

If you’re looking for 2017 to be that year for you, and you’re ready for help implementing some of the things mentioned above, then it might be time for us to work together.

Currently, there are three ways you can work with me:

You can work with me privately in my VIP Mastermind. This is a year-long private coaching program with a group Mastermind and the investment is $25,000.

You can work with me in Profit Pods, where you become part of a micro-community and receive 1-on-1 laser coaching in a group setting every other week. This is a six-month program, and there are 12 spots opening in January. The investment for six months is $3500

You can participate in a new hybrid group program designed for people either in start-up mode or exploring group coaching for the first time. This group meets every other week for a year, and you receive laser coaching approximately every other month. The investment for the year is $2400. Interested? Contact me.

If you would like 2017 to be a banner year, you will need to change the way you are approaching your business.

“There are seven days in a week and someday isn’t one of them.”

What has been a pivotal part of the success of your business, and what do you struggle with? Leave me a comment below and start the conversation. Maybe you can help a fellow commenter out if you have some advice on what their struggle is.

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